Dearest Awobi
I have been meaning to tell you
Ni adegi cuna WhatsApp
This wooing on WhatsApp, I dislike
Woo me properly like our forefathers wooed our mothers
Find me at the market square
Pretend to forcefully take a handkerchief from me
Take my sweater even
Grab my hand or corner me by the roadside
Murmur words that only you and I can decipher
But don’t text me
WhatsApp meno cuna pa anga gi?
Woo me properly
Take me to the aguma dance festival
Dance those village moves with me
Hold my fine Luo waist
Paanga ki myel awobi
Show me those crazy Acholi dance moves you love
Grab a calabash and mok kweda if you must
Make someone jealous
Heck make all the boys from Akara angry
Buu dano pira, yes, scare someone off too
Fight even and mark me as your territory
You can even claim me as your own without my consent
But not on messenger
Adeg cuna online awobi; I refuse this online wooing
Adegi; I don’t want
Woo me properly
Meet me at the borehole
Or at Kulu Aringa at the new bridge
That tangi i Tegweng could be another option
Stand towards the end of the path and pretend you haven’t seen me
Then wait for me after you have said niceties to my ever nosy aunt
Walk with me back home even when we know my brothers are snooping around, ready to pounce on you.
All that risk, that adrenaline rush pe i Telegram.
What risk is there i Telegram, huh?
I don’t like you having it easy
Woo me properly
I am like the sunset
You have to go out to feel my heat
You have to step away from the phone to see my orange evening hues
My fingers are like the rays and can’t be felt through the phone
My eyes cannot turn into two bright lights through your texts
Kati woko awobi
Come out and hold my waist
Adeg lok me cuna soso midiya; I dont want this social media wooing
I have to see through your eyes to your soul
I have to feel your breath against my ears
Our feet must feel the red hard soils of yoo cuk Mucwini
Let my village mosquitoes bite you
Wek cuna cim, this wooing me on the phone leave it be.
Woo me properly
Me amara ni, An.
Cuna WhatsApp
